The Gift
by Deadly Beauty
Summary: I guess I feel like I should have acomplished something by this stage of my life.' Krillen is upset about turning 30, but 18 may have a little something up her sleeve to help cheer him up. K18


Disclaimer; Dragonball Z and everything that goes with it does not belong to me.

A/N; I wrote this while I was at school last week and at the beginning of this week. So I thought I would share it with you all. It's not much, but I hope you'll all enjoy it!

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**The Gift**

**---**

18 snuggled deeper into the warmth of the bed and a sleepy smile fell across her face. It was winter on the Kame Island, the birds had gone west and the leaves were falling off the palm trees. More driftwood than usual washed up on the beach each morning because of the storms. But she was happy. The cold weather didn't bother her any more, because her heart was warm. She was living a life that she thought she would never be given the chance to live.

Beside her, her husband began to stir. 18 rolled onto her side and propped herself up on her elbow.

Slowly, Krillen's eyes opened, he looked dazed and confused, the way he always looked in the mornings. He blinked and stretched his arms up towards the ceiling.

"Good morning beautiful" he rubbed his eyes as he sat up. Her eyes closely followed his every move.

"Morning" she replied.

Krillen leaned towards her and gently kissed her, she wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. She loved their mornings, to her; it felt like they were the only two people in the world. Krillen smiled brightly at her as he pulled away. His eyes were dancing now.

"Wow, I guess it really is a good morning" he joked

"Well," 18 replied running circles around Krillen's chest with her fingernails. "It's not everyday my husband celebrates a birthday, is it?"

"Ugh!" Krillen buried his head in the crook of 18's neck, "don't remind me"

18 was confused, she thought birthdays were supposed to be a day of celebration. Every other year she had spent with Krillen, he had been excited about his birthday. "Why not?" she asked.

"Well," he stopped to ponder the question for a minute, "Because I'm thirty" he eventually replied

"Thirty? What's wrong with thirty?"

"It's a whole new era, babe. Like a new chapter of my life, you know what I mean?"

"No"

Shaking his head and laughing, Krillen opted for something simpler "I feel old"

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Later on in the morning, 18 stood out on the deck of their small home. Krillen was dancing with the air, engaged in a fierce solo training session. 18 grimaced and crossed her arms over her chest. She hadn't seen him train with this much intensity in months. Usually he just sparred to fill in the time and keep in shape. Not today though. Today his movements had a certain drive to them, a fluency that she rarely saw from him, and she didn't like it.

"Krillen!" she called up to him, from her vantage point on the deck, but he didn't hear her. "Hey, Krillen!" she cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, but again he didn't respond.

Shaking her head and sighing, 18 disappeared only to re-appear an instant later, high up in the sky.

"Shi…." Krillen trailed off as 18 caught the fist that was heading for her face with great ease. "18, you scared me half to death"

"Well I wouldn't of needed to come up here if you had of listened to me the first time I called" she let go of his fist and smiled sweetly at him. It was a look she reserved for him and him alone. He smiled back, then leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose.

"What are you doing up here?" she asked. A look of confusion settled on Krillen's face "training" he simply stated.

"But you never train with that kind of…" she paused, looking for the right word "intensity. What's bothering you?"

They dropped back to the warm sand before Krillen replied. "Nothings bothering me, sweet heart"

18 raised an eyebrow. "Krillen, I'm your wife" she stated bluntly, "You can't expect to lie so pitifully to your wife and get away with it"

Krillen sighed, he'd been beat.

"Is it turning thirty?" 18 asked, still not understanding why it bothered her husband so much.

"Yeah," Krillen nodded, "it is"

"I don't understand" 18 looked dazed, even now, after living amongst them for almost four years, humans and their emotions – their way of dealing with things, it still baffled her.

"Ok," Krillen tried to work out how he was going to explain this to his wife. He sat down in the sand and 18 quickly followed. "I guess turning thirty is like a whole new chapter. When you're in your twenties you can still muck up and blame it on being young, but once you hit thirty it's time to grow up. No more excuses. It's time to make something of myself"

"You don't think you've made anything of yourself?" 18 asked, looking him directly in the eyes.

"Not really"

"Krillen, that's bullshit" 18 quickly spat, before he had the chance to say anymore. "You've achieved more than anyone I know"

"Well, with all do respect babe, you don't really know a lot of people"

"That's not the point"

Krillen didn't respond. So 18 tried again, she had to get through to her husband. She hated to see him like this.

"Well what do you feel like you should of accomplished by this stage of your life?" she asked.

"I dunno," Krillen shrugged. "I guess I always imagined that by now I'd have a family and have myself set up and well off." He turned his gaze out to the never ending ocean.

18 smiled, she had a feeling that she might be able to brighten Krillen's day and give him a happy birthday after all. Out of the corner of his eye, Krillen noticed the cheeky look on his wife's face and turned to face her again. "What?" he asked

"Nothing" she replied smugly

"What?" he asked again, his tone of voice a little more urgent this time.

"Nothing," she replied sweetly, knowing how much it would tick him off. She loved to mess with him. He always got the same priceless look on his face. It was adorable.

She deliberately didn't say anything say anything for several minutes, knowing that it would drive him insane. Then, "do you really want to know?"

"Yes!" he practically yelled it, the suspense was killing him.

"Alright," 18 gave in. She leaned over and whispered into Krillen's ear. When she pulled away she had to chuckle to herself, the look on her husbands face was priceless.

"What?" he asked, blinking in disbelief

"You heard me" she replied

Krillen sat motionless as his wife's words sunk into his head. He needed a moment or two to process this information. "You're sure?" he asked, hoping against hope that she was.

18 nodded, "positive" she smiled.

"Oh my god," Krillen muttered to himself, then, lifting his eyes up to meet 18's, a massive smile broke out onto his face. "A baby!" he leaped on 18 and they fell back into the sand. "We're having a baby!"

"Happy birthday, Krillen" 18 managed to mutter in between her husbands ecstatic kisses. She was glad that he had been able to make him so happy. She tried so hard to be a good wife to him. There were so many things that she didn't understand about being human and sometimes she got scared and panicked. But she knew that Krillen loved her unconditionally, and he was always there for her no matter what. He wasn't scared of her, and he didn't dread her little episodes, he just helped her through them by being the support she needed. He was her rock.

-

A thousand and one thoughts a minute were running through Krillen's mind, how ever, they were all driven by one emotion.

Euphoria.

He was ecstatic. His heart was racing, his hands were shaking, he wore an enormous smile on his face. This was the moment he had been dreaming about for the past 15 years. Ever since he had been a teenager; a mere boy, all he had wanted was a family of his own. Something that he was responsible for. People to love, and protect and look after. He wanted the chance to do for someone, what no one had done for him.

He made no secret of his rough childhood. The abuse, the neglect, the trauma. His life was an open book, he didn't feel the need to suppress anything. He knew what people thought of him – he was not a dumb man. He knew about the jokes, the comments.

But that didn't matter, especially not now. He had 18, the light of his life, he loved her, and she loved him, and now this latest turn of events. The news that they we're expecting their first child together. Right now, Krillen was quite sure he was the happiest man on the face of the Earth or beyond.

He hadn't ever expected this. He had always believed 18 unable to have children as a result of her 'modifications' at the hands of Doctor Gero. He had accepted that fact when he had proposed to her. He loved 18 so much that it didn't matter to him that he would never have a child, because he had 18 and that was more than enough. Now though, it seemed that all his dreams were about to come true. A child. His child. Someone for him to love and nurture. The joy that was running through him was indescribable.

"I can't believe this!" he exclaimed, completely unable to wipe the smile off of his face.

"So I take it this has brightened you day?" 18 asked as she brushed sand off her legs.

"I…I…" Krillen couldn't find the words to answer his wife, so instead he leaned over and kissed her again.

"How long have you known?" he asked as he lay back in the sand and offered for 18 to come and snuggle up beside him.

"A couple of days," she replied as she rested her head on his shoulder and draped her arm across his waist, "remember when I went to lunch with Bulma?"

"Oh!" Krillen gasped, "so you really went to CC for a test? He asked

"No. I met Bulma like we arranged and as soon as she saw me she started to congratulate me. So then we went back to the CC and did the test and low and behold, she was right"

Krillen laughed and once again kissed his wife. "I really can't believe this"

"Believe what?" asked the familiar voice of an old man

"Believe that 18 maxed out my credit card again"

18 kicked him.

Roshi shook his head, "I'll never understand you two" he said with a slight chuckle. Then he got to the real reason he was out here in the first place, "18, Bulma is on the phone for you," and with that he made his way back up towards the house.

18 went to get up, but Krillen didn't release his hold on her "pretend you didn't hear him calling"

"But I have to go"

"But it's my birthday" he smiled at her

"It looks like it's going to rain anyway. Come into the house with me.

"Alright…" he sighed as he stood up. Then, and with a devilish smile on his face, he scooped his wife, and the soon to be mother of his child up into his arms and carried her back into the house.

It had turned out to be a happy birthday after all.

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A/N; Well, there you go. What did you think? I hope you enjoyed it, everyone can use a bit of pointless sap now and again. Lol. Well let me know what you think if you want! I'd love to hear from you!

-D.B


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